Sixty six indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were evaluated in stressful conditions (temperature, osmolarity, sulphite and ethanol tolerance) and also ability to flocculate. Eighteen strains showed tolerant characteristics to these stressful conditions, growing at 42 °C, in 0.04% sulphite, 1 mol L(-1) NaCl and 12% ethanol. No flocculent characteristics were observed. These strains were...

The antioxidant activity of the phenolic compounds present in industrial black liquors obtained from the two cooking processes (kraft and sulphite) used in Portugal to produce Eucalyptus globulus pulp was evaluated. The black liquors treated at several pH values were extracted with ethyl acetate. Phenolic fractions were further separated by liquid chromatography of the crude extracts of kraft l...

BACKGROUND Identifying the genetic basis of complex microbial phenotypes is currently a major barrier to our understanding of multigenic traits and our ability to rationally design biocatalysts with highly specific attributes for the biotechnology industry. Here, we demonstrate that strain evolution by meiotic recombination-based genome shuffling coupled with deep sequencing can be used to deco...

IN a recent paper by Cohen & Harris [1937] it is shown that the lignin of maple wood is, to a limited extent, soluble in hot dilute sulphuric acid and also in hot water. That a fraction of lignin is soluble in water has been suspected for many years and recently it has been definitely suggested by Paloheimo [1929]. The solubility of lignin in dilute acids is discussed by Schorger [1926, p. 92] ...

The strictly anaerobic bacterium Desulfonispora thiosulfatigenes ferments taurine via sulphoacetaldehyde, which is hydrolysed to acetate and sulphite by sulphoacetaldehyde sulpho-lyase (EC 4.4.1.12). The lyase was expressed at high levels and a two-step, 4.5-fold purification yielded an apparently homogeneous soluble protein, which was presumably a homodimer in its native form; the molecular ma...

Abstract The exchangeable cations and anionic pollutants of Okpoka-Woji River serving as a sink for effluents of industries located in the vicinity within the Trans-Amadi industrial area were carried out. Sediment samples were collected from six sampling stations located along the channel for the assessment of exchangeable cations namely calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium and nitrite, ni...